Cedar Point Announces New Water Ride for 2010 Season

2100' is pretty good for a flume-type ride.

HeyIsntThatRob? said:

We're just going to have to wait and see, but to be honest I'm not very optimistic about it. This ride is going to be a foot or two taller than Snake River Falls, with that under consideration I can't really see how the height requirement would be less than 48".

~Rob

Would the fact that this ride has OTSR's (or OTHLB's, to be more accurate) factor in? Seemingly, it would hopefully indicate that a shorter height requirement would be OK, though I know there's a lot more to it. Perhaps RideMan has some info on this?

That said, the very fact that CP doesn't yet know is quite disappointing. You'd think the planning stages would've started with certain requirements, like must be family friendly and must be ride-able by people 42" and up, and go from there. That they didn't doesn't give me a whole heap of faith in their ability to plan.

I have to say I am quite disappointed in the ride. .

I was entirely expecting, and hoping for, a flume ride. So I could care less that we are not getting a coaster.

But I wanted something at least as good as, and hopefully better than White Water Landing.

IMHO, this is the first pooch-screwing of a major new attraction at CP in a long, long time. There was an opportunity to build something great that exceeded its predecessor, but instead we have something entirely mediocre that lacks the charm of a true flume ride.

Shoot-the-Rapids II looks like a boring layout. No meandering through woods and interesting scenery. No elevated track section to enjoy the view. No intimacy of 4-person inline logs.

The ride seems too quick, with pacing of the hills creating the illusion of a shorter ride than it actually is. Semicircle-up/down-Semicircle-up/down-Semicircle.

Reading some of the earlier posts in this thread about how this ride is nothing more than SRFx2, and not really a "flume" ride, I was a bit skeptical of these sentiments. But now that I've seen the artwork and the POV, I agree wholeheartedly.

I guess now I am resigned to thinking that I won't be able to enjoy the classic flume experience at CP anymore. At least not for another 20+ years when they tear this one down.

TTD 120mph said:
Jeff pretty much nailed it a page or 2 back. I can already tell the lack of attention I will be putting into this thread here on out (sorry Walt). The shear amount of complaining and bickering is just not what I want to read when I get home from work. The same people (I'm not pointing fingers but some of you know who I'm talking about) are just going to be repeating the same comments, the same arguments, and the same utter nonsense for the next few months and I just don't want to bother reading it.

When people don't want to listen to the regulars who are the ones trying to keep things sane but they still don't listen.....well then what's the use? I might be over reacting but the conversation switch from the 2010 construction thread to this hardly improved in just the FIRST DAY!! So it's unlikely that it'll get any better in the months to come. So here's one regular who has had enough of this merry go round and will be getting off before he hurls.

Boy oh boy I cant wait for the off season.:)

Do you not want to read it because it's not what you want to read? Just because this is Cedar Point doesn't mean every ride they put in people have to like. Yes, some of us are spoiled and not thinking of the days before Millenium Force and TTD, however this ride just doesn't make much sense to me, especially if you have to be 48 inches tall to ride!

I think two factors will really reveal whether this is a hit or miss. The first, as fanatic says, is the height limit. 48" just won't hit the target audience I think they have missed over the years.

And, I agree that the final ride experience will make a difference. The two drops are nice but what happens between those drops, and if there is any interactivity with non riders, will also be a big factor.

DA20Pilot said:

But I wanted something at least as good as, and hopefully better than White Water Landing.

Dude! You lucky bastard! They let you ride it already??? Man, that's crazy... I never get to do cool stuff like ride something before its built!

I should add that CP's 2045 attraction sucks as well.

Walt said:

And the Samantha Brown commercial isn't targeting thrill seekers. Different ads target different groups. That's been the strategy for a long time.

They have had separate ads for separate demographics as far back as I can remember but, lets be real here. Any bill board I've seen in Michigan or in Ohio for cedar Point advertises roller coasters. The newest spot where a son comes home from his tour of duty advertises the roller coasters as in "Hey big army brother, are you man enough to handle roller coasters?", Ride Warriors campaign, even the tickets they sell at Credit Unions and local big box chains have roller coasters pictured to draw your attention. 1 spot with some stereotypical mom does not even come close to canceling out all the advertising CP has done up until this point.

If Cedar Point is stepping away from that, fine. I think its great. They need to stick with it but, you can't ignore the elephant in the room which has been their ad campaign for about 12 years now.

I think there is a difference between bickering and voicing one's opinion.

Forums such as these, IMO, are a venue to express one's feelings about the subject matter at hand, and such feelings may not always be positive.

I haven't posted here since the Project 2007 discussion, but my disappointment in this ride not approaching my expectations is great enough to compel me to do so.

I also know that CP personnel read these boards, and for what little it's worth, I would like my opinion heard.

I love Cedar Point, such that even though I have lived in Florida for 23 years, I have had a season pass for 17 out of the last 20 years, and visited the park multiple times per year every year for the last 21 years except 1995.

Part of what compels me to keep making the trip is that, for the most part, since Mr. Kinzel has been running the show CP has installed rides that are world-class within their category. Rides that are exciting, imaginative, and fun. Rides that offer experiences that cannot be matched by similar rides at other parks.

In the case of STR II, there are 2 flumes right here at home in Orlando that are much more interesting and exciting than what this ride appears to be, and those flumes are 10 and 16 years old.

I am sure STR II will be popular and successful, but to me it falls short of the standards that made CP a world-class destination as opposed to merely another regional amusement park.

So anyway, I was at the park yesterday and was completely out of the loop all day. Any news while I was gone? ;)

djdaemon,

Point taken that I haven't ridden the ride yet.

But there are some reasonable conclusions that can be drawn from looking at high-quality artwork and a detailed POV.

I agree with Chief Wahoo- two drops are nice but what's in between is important as well.

I think those are legitimate observations DA and not unlike I've been saying. And, I certainly don't think STR has to be the tallest, fastest, biggest anything. That would defeat the purpose of a "family" ride.

I also understand that a Cedar Point (or other regional amusement park...particularly in the north) is not going to spend $90 million on a ride (ala Splash Mountatin) or even $40-$50 million on a ride (Dudly Doorights).

But, at least from first appearances one does get left with the impression that STR is, well, pretty basic. If the intent is to spice it up (as Mr. Decker seemed to indicate in his comments) then one has to wonder why that wasn't already planned and announced. And, I think it is fair to also question why there is no indication yet of the height limit. They know the height limit on coasters when they are designed so you wonder what might prevent them from making that information known now as well.

Yeah, well, you're complaining (or *ahem* "drawing conclusions") about things that have yet to be revealed. It seems pretty obvious there will be some sort of animatronic and/or interactive elements to the ride that they're not going to bother putting into the animation. Its like complaining about the lack of G-forces on Intimidator.

Wahoo, I agree with you completely. I don't think it has to be the fastest, biggest anything. But I expect first-rate offerings from CP.

For example, Maverick. not tall, not exceptionally long, not a lot of inversions, but an interesting, fun, somewhat unique ride experience that makes it a standout.

I don't expect a mountain or multimillion-dollar enclosure like Splash Mountain or Ripsaw Falls, but it seems that those rides without their enclosures would have a more interesting layout and varied ride experience than what the STR concept art depicts.

I thought WWL was great, especially when the themed buildings were still standing. The twisted layout was more interesting and gave an illusion that you were winding down a creek across a distance, the original theming was perfect for a park like CP, the dense woods and scenery added much to the ride experience, and the elevated track section overlooking the water was one of my favorites. There were a variety of "elements", like the buildings, the mini-lift, turns, straightaways, and aforementioned elevated track.

But, as Kinky Friedman once said.. "When the horse dies, get off." So I'll quit beating him and hope to be pleasantly surprised next spring.

Can I just state for the record how happy I am that CP is doing anything at all in improvements considering the economic conditions of the area that they are in. All things considered this is a "low budget" way of giving us all something new without tanking the future by doing what most Americans do - and that is overspend. Plus the placement is good to continue giving the Frontier Trail a reason to have people visit it other than just a pass through. My biggest disappointment is now those shops over there will be busier, and I liked having them to myself at times.

djDaemon said:

Would the fact that this ride hasOTSR's (or OTHLB's, to be more accurate) factor in? Seemingly, it wouldhopefully indicate that a shorter height requirement would be OK,though I know there's a lot more to it. Perhaps RideMan has some infoon this?

Just out of curiosity have you been on Pilgrim's Plunge at Holiday World? With the boats being completely open and having the over head lapbars, I felt that one could easily slide out of their seat sideways since there's nothing on either side of the boat from keeping you from doing it. Sure there's some rubber padding on the lapbar to keep someone from doing it, but I would think a smaller child would have no trouble at all attempting to slide out, especially if they are hysterical on a drop approaching 90'. On top of that, having these higher seats with the OTSLB's there's not much of a view for the littler ones other than what is beside the boats.

The boats on WWL, while you could get out of them during the ride if you wanted to,required a responsible person to ride with someone who was under 46", this person could easily contain a smaller person in the event they "freak out," you're not going to have this ability with individual restraints on StR. Plus the boats had higher sides to them which made it difficult to get out during the ride.

Granted, all of this is hypothetical. We'll just have to wait and see with what they come up with. But again, I'm not very optimistic and think that this is more of a step backwards as far as "family" attractions go. Sure it's going to be a gentle ride, but that doesn't mean it'll be family oriented if there's a 48" height requirement. I'm still hoping I'm wrong and that we see 42"-ish requirement.

~Rob

If you have not seen the new Point Cast, Rob Decker says you will get soaked. It can be dialed back on colder days.

I don't like to get wet at all at Cedar Point unless I go to Soak City. I'm not riding it. A ride that soaks you is not very 'family' friendly.WWL provided the perfect balance between a sprinkle of water and not getting wet. This is a redundant ride.

Also the video mentions 2011 and beyond as "Cedar Point is a thrill park.. we have about 4 or 5 things in the hopper.."

HeyIsntThatRob? said:

Just out of curiosity have you been on Pilgrim's Plunge at Holiday World?

No, I've not. And that ties in to what I'm wondering - what determines the rider height requirement? Is it overall ride height? Restraint type? Vehicle configuration? A combination of two or more of these seems most likely, but if they know all these factors already and have yet to set a height requirement, maybe not. And yeah, its troubling that they don't know yet. Very troubling.

Cn3rd - I've been the same way in recent years, until this season. While at the park for a day, we just changed into swim suits and hit up TC and SRF twice (and headed to SC afterward), and I forgot how much fun those rides can be if you're prepared to be soaked. Even though its a one-trick pony, SRF is still fun, probably because the line isn't too long most of the time. Though I will say that TC seemed much better when I was younger, but it was still fun.

Detroit Basketball said:
This look's like a fun ride. I was never expecting a roller coaster and was actually hoping for a WWL replacement. However, I do not feel this is a WWL replacement or a log flume replacement of any sort.

Shoot The Rapids is most definitely a flume ride, why do you think it is not? The boats are not tracked, except for the drop, they free float in the channel. The only difference from previous versions of flume rides at CP is that the channel the boats travel in is made from concrete instead of fiberglass. This is smart as it will make for a durable, low maintenance ride. And I think the concrete channel looks much better than a fiberglass flume.

While I'm not big on being "soaked" at an amusement I go to Disney and see adults and kids alike running through fountains and otherwise walking around wet. So, I don't see that as much of a stumbling block.

djDaemon said:

Cn3rd - I've been the same way in recent years, until this season. While at the park for a day, we just changed into swim suits and hit up TC and SRF twice (and headed to SC afterward), and I forgot how much fun those rides can be if you're prepared to be soaked. Even though its a one-trick pony, SRF is still fun, probably because the line isn't too long most of the time. Though I will say that TC seemed much better when I was younger, but it was still fun.

I rode Thunder Canyon last year and it was rock wall then waterfall, then a turn, more rocks and another waterfall. Forgive me for not sharing your enthusiasm. Cedar Point now as three rides that will soak you. Thats the very definition of redundancy. Why not a true family flume that won't soak you, but offers a nice leisurely ride for you and the kids and grandma and grandpa like Cedar Point is advertising?